All manner and variety of absorbent articles configured for the absorption of body fluids such as menses, urine, and feces are, of course, well known. Absorbent articles, particularly sanitary napkins, having wings or flaps are disclosed in the literature and are available in the marketplace.
Generally, the flaps extend laterally from a central absorbent means and are intended to be folded around the edges of the wearer's panties in the crotch region. Thus, the flaps are disposed between the edges of the wearer's panties in the crotch region and the wearer's thighs. Commonly, the flaps are provided with an attachment means for affixing the flaps to the underside of the wearer's panties.
The flaps serve at least two purposes. First, the flaps prevent exudates which otherwise would soil the edges of the wearer's panties from doing such. Second, the flaps help stabilize the napkin from shifting out of place, especially when the flaps are affixed to the underside of the panties.
Sanitary napkins having flaps of the various types are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,687,478, entitled "Shaped Sanitary Napkin With Flaps", which issued to Van Tilburg on Aug. 18, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,047, entitled "Sanitary Napkin Attachment Means", which issued to Mattingly on Aug. 26, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,876, entitled "Sanitary Napkin", which issued to Van Tilburg on May 20, 1986, U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,343, entitled "Sanitary Napkin", which issued to McNair on Aug. 25, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,697, entitled "Disposable Sanitary Shield For Undergarments", which issued to Rickard on Aug. 20, 1968, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,787,271, entitled "Sanitary Napkin", which issued to Clark on Apr. 2, 1957.
While flaps greatly improve the effectiveness of a sanitary napkin, the flaps of a sanitary napkin may hinder or impede application of the sanitary napkin to the crotch of the wearer's panty. Currently, each of the flaps of a sanitary napkin have an end, the distal end, which may move freely relative to the sanitary napkin. Once the release paper of the central pad adhesive is removed by the wearer, the distal ends of the flaps may fall between the crotch portion of the wearer's panty and the sanitary napkin and may become adhered to the central pad adhesive. Therefore, there is a need for a sanitary napkin having flaps positioned so that they will not interfere with the application of the sanitary napkin to the panty.
Currently, sanitary napkins having flaps will not function properly unless the flaps are used (i.e, are folded down along the edges of the crotch of the wearer's undergarment and affixed to the underside of the undergarment). Generally, as they are packaged, the flaps of a sanitary napkin are folded over the garment side of the sanitary napkin or are folded over the body-facing side of the sanitary napkin. Therefore, if the flaps are not used while the sanitary napkin is being used, the flaps will either obstruct the surface intended to receive bodily exudates on the body-facing side of the sanitary napkin, or will obstruct the adhesive or other fastening means positioned on the garment side of the sanitary napkin. While sanitary napkins having flaps are commonly viewed as providing better protection against soiling as compared to sanitary napkins without flaps, some women still prefer a sanitary napkin without flaps, and some women who generally prefer a sanitary napkin with flaps, occasionally (such as during periods of light flow) prefer a sanitary napkin without flaps. Therefore, there is a need for a sanitary napkin having flaps which may or may not be used while the sanitary napkin is being used.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article, such as a sanitary napkin, having tucked side flaps, i.e., flaps which are tucked in a recessed area, which will not impede or hinder application of the absorbent article to the crotch of the wearer's panty.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article, such as a sanitary napkin, having optional side flaps, i.e., flaps which are tucked into a recessed area and which may or may not be used while the absorbent article is being used.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an absorbent article having tucked side flaps and zones of differential extensibility for relieving the stresses that develop in the flaps when they are folded down along the edges of the crotch of the wearer's undergarments and affixed to the underside of the undergarments.
These and other objects of the present invention will be more readily apparent when considered in reference to the following description and when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.